I'RE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



789 



Explanatory.— Tbe Ugures before the 

 aames indicate the number of years that the 

 person has kept bees. Those after, show 

 the number of colonies the writer had in the 

 previous spring and fall, or fall and spring, 

 &B the time of the year may require. 



This marls © indicates that the apiarist is 

 located near tne center of the State named ; 

 6 north of the center; 9 south; O east; 

 *0 west; and thisd northeast; x> northwest: 

 o» southeast; and ? southwest of the center 

 of the State mentioned. 



ror the American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie MicMgan State Convention. 



The Michigan State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association held its 20th annual con- 

 -vention on Dec. 1 and 2, 188&, at Ypsi- 

 lanti, Mich. The meeting was called 

 to order at 11 a.m. on Dec. 1, with 

 President A. J. Cook in the chair. 

 As the minutes of the last meeting 

 had been widely published, their 

 reading was dispensed with. 



The hrst topic discussed was, 



KESTORING FLAVOR OF STALE HONEY. 



T. F. Bingham — At the Indianapolis 

 <;onveution this subject was discussed, 

 and some asserted that when honey 

 had been exposed to the air and lost 

 its flavor, it could be brought back to 

 its former excellent state by the ap- 

 plication of heat. In proof of this 

 assertion reference was made to the 

 fact that when canned or preserved 

 fruit began to show signs of fermen- 

 tation or of " spoiling," the good 

 bouse-wife " heated up " the fruit 

 and then pronounced it "good." I 

 went home to a very nice house-wife 

 and asked for her opinion, and re- 

 ceived a very lively answer. It was : 

 " I'-o-o-s-h ! It is nothing of the 

 kind ; such boiling only causes the 

 stale part of the fruit to permeate the 

 whole mass. The only thing to te 

 <Ione is to throw it away." Honey is 

 a luxury or it is nothing. It cannot 

 compete with cane-sugar as a sweet- 

 «iier. It is the tine llavor and aroma 

 ttiat give honey and maple sugar 

 ttieir value. Honey that is extracted 

 when "green" and ripened by ex- 

 posure to the air, or honey that has 

 iaeeu long exposed to the air, never 

 has the Hne flavor of that ripened by 

 the bees, and kept sealed up. 



A. 1. Root — We once had some 

 maple sugar that had been exposed to 

 the air, and was not quite so nice in 

 ■consequence. It was " heated up," 

 and although not quite so nice it was 

 greatly improved. 



A lady said that when we find fruit 

 slightly spoiled through some imper- 

 fection of the can, we skim off the top 

 and seal the rest, when it becomes 

 •quite palatable. 



A. I. Root— Dr. Miller says that 

 honey that has candied and then been 

 allowed to drain, is very fine when 

 xnelted. 



T. F. Bingham— If the thin honey 

 is skimmed from the top the rest will 

 be greatly improved. The thin honey 

 may be made into vinegar. 



HONEY FROM CAPPINQS. 



R. L. Taylor— We prefer the honey 

 that drains from the cappings. The 

 reason may be that it is in such small 

 quantities that it becomes more thor- 

 oughly evaporated. 



T. F. Bingham— Is it the consis- 

 tency or the aroma, Mr. Taylor, that 

 makes it so interesting in your 

 family ¥ 



R. L. Taylor— Both. The flavor is 

 not, perhaps, a natural one, but 

 rather one acquired from a contact 

 with the cappings. It is a pure wax 

 flavor, but one we prefer. 



Geo. E. Hilton— There is another 

 point. Honey from cappings is always 

 thoroughly ripened ; while in a large 

 crop part of it may have been un- 

 sealed. 



A. I. Root — I agree. I once ex- 

 tracted honey late in order to feed 

 sugar, and the honey thus secured 

 was equal to that drained from cap- 

 pings. 



R. L. Taylor — AVithout raising the 

 point as to whether honey can be 

 ripened artificially so as to equal that 

 ripened by the bees, I will say that 

 honey ripened and /sealed by the bees 

 is superior to that extracted before 

 being sealed. 



The discussion here drifted into the 

 subject of 



RIPENING HONEY. 



A. J. Cook — I believe that honey 

 can be ripened artificially so that it 

 will equal that ripened by the bees. I 

 have placed both kinds before good 

 judges, and they were unable to de- 

 cide. My brother has a granary that 

 is very warm, and he extracts his 

 honey when thin, puts in some shallow 

 sap- pans that have been discarded, 

 and places them in the granary, cov- 

 ering them with muslin to exclude 

 dust and insects. Mr. Rey, of East 

 Saginaw, got some of the honey, and 

 I should like to have him say how it 

 compares with other honey he" buys. 



John Rey— It is always thick, and 

 of good flavor and color, and is as 

 nice as any honey I get. There is 

 never any scum rises upon it, such as 

 there is on unripe honey. 



T. F. Bingham— There, Professor, I 

 think I have the inside track yet, even 

 by one of your own witnesses. Mr. 

 Rey says there is a scum rises upon 

 mnipe honey. This scum is the re- 

 sult of fermentation. How can fer- 

 mentation take place without injuring 

 the honey V 



Prof. Cook— I am not in favor of 

 unripe honey. It must be thoroughly 

 ripened. The flavor in honey is given 

 by the flower from which it is gath- 

 ered, and all that is needed is evap- 

 oration, and this is caused by heat, 

 and why there should be any mater- 

 ial difference whether this is ai)p!ied 

 in the hive or outside of it, I am un- 

 able to discern. Honey must be ripr 

 ened, but extract it when you please. 



T. F. Bingham— Would you leave 

 your maple syrup exposed to the air. 

 Professor v 



Prof. Cook— No. I would evaporate 

 it just as soon as possible, and then 

 se:il it up. 



R. L. Taylor — Even if honey can be 

 ripened artificially so that it will be 

 equally as good as that ripened by the 

 bees, shall we advise such a course? 

 One bee-keeper in a hundred might 

 do it properly, but what of the other 

 ninety-nine ? 



Prof. Cook — Then we must educate 

 them, and if they will not be educated 

 then they must suffer the conse- 

 quences. 



Mr. Macpherson— AVe should con- 

 sider the cost ; perhaps honey can be 

 ripened artificially enough more 

 cheaply so that it will be the better 

 way even though the honey is not 

 quite so good. 



T. F. Bingham — Because I have 

 money to-day is no sure sign that I 

 will have any to-morrow. We must 

 look to the future. AVhere will our 

 market be in ten years unless we 

 furnish only a first-class article V 

 What kind of a market will our 

 children have if we continue to put 

 upon it the poor " stuff " that is honey 

 only in name V Honey is a luxury, 

 and will always remain as such even 

 if sold for one-half the price of cane- 

 sugar. AVhat is it that makes honey 

 and maple sugar luxuries V Is it 

 their fine flavor, their rich aroma, 

 their delicate " bouquet, "if you please? 

 Allow these to escape, and what is 

 there left V A very poor quality of 

 sweet of a low power. Honey sealed 

 over and kept at a high, even tem- 

 perature and covered by bees, im- 

 proves by age and becomes smooth, 

 rich and oily, the same as bottled 

 wine improves by age. If we expect 

 to hold our market for extracted 

 honey, we must not extract it until it 

 is fully ripened, and it must be kept 

 sealed up from the air. Ten years 

 from now will show that I am correct. 



The convention then adjourned un- 

 til 1:30 p.m. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The convention was called to order 

 at 1:30 p.m., by Prof. Cook, who then 

 delivered the 



president's annual address. 



In casting about for a subject most 

 appropriate for this annual address 

 of the President of our Association, it 

 has occurred to me that a resume of 

 the year's progress, and a statement 

 as to the present outlook for our api- 

 cultural pursuit, might be both in- 

 teresting and profitable, even if not 

 the most profitable theme that could 

 engage our attention. 



Let me state as a preface, that it 

 might seem a bold undertaking to 

 give any formal address at all, in the 

 face of the criticisms that have re- 

 cently deluged us regarding all such 

 exercises in our apiarian conventions. 

 It would be bold except as I promise 

 at the outset that my address shall be 

 brief. Let me suggest, however, in 

 this connection, that very likely these 

 criticisms may justly be criticised. It 

 would seem that a sharp, terse, con- 

 cise presentation of any subject by 

 one well fitted to discuss it wisely, 

 would be a most fitting way to intro- 



